1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a multimedia system, and more particularly to a multimedia system for use in vehicle and comprises a dash pad for allowing a user to wirelessly control electrical accessories in that vehicle.
2. Description of Related Arts
Conventionally, a vehicle, such as a car, is usually equipped with a plurality of electronic accessories for allowing the driver or the passengers to perform certain activities while the vehicle is operating. For example, the vehicle may be equipped with a navigation system and a speaker system for navigating and for playing music respectively. The current practice is that each of the electronic accessories requires separate control panels and this has several disadvantages. First, the control panel for a particular electronic equipment is usually mounted at a particular location in the passenger compartment (such as on the dashboard) so that not every person in the vehicle can gain access to that particular control panel. Thus, a passenger sitting in the back seat may not control the navigation system which is mounted on the dashboard of the vehicle. On the other hand, the passenger sitting next to the driver may not control a DVD player mounted on a rear side of the driver seat because the control panel of the DVD player is provided thereon. This imparts great inconvenience to users of the electronic accessories.
Second, most of the electronic accessories provided in the vehicle do not support remote control. Even though there is, each of the electronic accessories requires separate remote control specifically manufactured to operate a particular kind of electronic accessory. For example, a DVD player mounted in the vehicle may have a remote control for allowing a user to operate the DVD player at a distance, but that remote control can only be used for that particular DVD player, and every electronic accessory will have its own remote control. The result is that there exist so many remote controls in the vehicle which may distract the driver and bring great inconvenience to other passengers.
Third, many drivers or passengers may bring their own personal electronic accessories to the vehicle and use them while the vehicle is operating. For example, a driver may bring his or her music player and play his or her songs while driving. Very often, these personal electronic accessories do not have any connection to the electrical accessories equipped in the vehicle. Thus, the user needs to individually control their personal electronic accessories as well as the electronic accessories equipped in the vehicle whenever they wish to use them.